


Who Knew Hot Chocolate Could Be So...Dangerous?

by EllenMarieP



Series: Thomas Barrow Christmas Prompts [6]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Angry but forgiving Thomas, Gen, Mary sucks at apologies, Thomas Barrow is Good With Children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:33:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28058475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllenMarieP/pseuds/EllenMarieP
Summary: Part 6 of the Christmas Prompt Challenge. I made this up as I went along. It's not great but what the heck."What do you mean you don't like hot chocolate!? Don't you like fun?"Mary makes a late attempt to apologise for replacing Thomas during the royal visit. She lets George plan said apology.
Series: Thomas Barrow Christmas Prompts [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030419
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27
Collections: A Very Thomas Barrow Christmas 2020





	Who Knew Hot Chocolate Could Be So...Dangerous?

**Who Knew Hot Chocolate Could Be So…Dangerous?**

If there was one thing that Lady Mary Talbot hated, it was admitting that she was wrong. Admitting she was wrong AND having to explain herself AND having to apologise? Well, that was just torture no matter who the other person was.

The fact that it was Barrow just made it tricky, he wouldn’t just melt and let her get away with it like Carson used to. No, he’d let her stew in her own juices for a while before he let her off the hook and yet here she was, outside his office, like a criminal awaiting the hangman’s noose.

It had taken Mary a few days of hints from her family and Anna once the whole royal show was over to realise that her reason for and manner of bringing Carson back may not have been her wisest move. In fact, it may have been quite the insult to Barrow which she hadn’t thought of at the time. In her defence, Carson didn’t think of it either.

She had hoped that if she just ignored it, it would go away. Now it was Christmas and Barrow still hadn’t forgiven her to the point that George had realised that she’d done something wrong and somehow managed to guilt-trip her into apologising. The hot chocolate she held in her hands as a peace offering was also his idea. He was definitely his father’s son. Although said hot chocolate may be cold if she spent any longer standing in the corridor.

_‘Come on Mary. Don’t be such a coward. He’s your butler. You’re his employer. He should be grateful for the apology even if it is a few months late.’_

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself Mary raised a hand and gave the door a firm knock.

***************************************************************************

On the other side of the door, Thomas Barrow looked at the door. He’d heard the footsteps stop outside his door five minutes earlier and his office smelt increasingly of hot chocolate, but he’d rather enjoyed the thought of someone being frightened to knock on his door, it reminded him of the old days before everyone decided he’d gone soft.

“Come in.”

He was slightly surprised to see Lady Mary enter the room and hastened to get to his feet. Was she holding hot chocolate?

“Milady? What can I do for you?”

Mary hesitated for another moment before holding out the cup of warm chocolate.

“Master George insisted I come with a peace offering. So here it is.”

Thomas’ eyes looked blankly at the offered drink. A peace offering? For what? Of course, he had a suspicion but if he was right then a hot chocolate months later wasn’t really going to cut it and he wasn’t about to play pretend.

“A peace offering milady. May I ask what for?”

Mary’s heart sank a little. She should’ve known.

_‘Just go with the truth Mary. Get it over with.’_

“I think you know but I suppose I should explain myself anyway. I panicked before the royal visit and it didn’t occur to me until after that I treated you badly. I should’ve asked more about your plans with the silver and I should have had more faith in you. I’m sorry.”

With that, she glanced at the ever cooling chocolate and back at Barrow expectantly only to be greeted by an icy glare and a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t like hot chocolate.”

The surprised laugh that escaped her was not at all intentional, nor were the words that followed but by the time she realised her mistake, or rather the latest in a line of mistakes, it was too late.

“What do you mean you don’t like hot chocolate!? Don’t you like fun?”

It was almost as if the butler grew several inches to tower over her as the air between them turned to ice. Mary would never admit it but at that moment she felt a shiver of fear down her spine as she swallowed nervously and fought the urge to take a step back.

Thomas was furious. How dare she treat him like a spare part to be tossed aside and then come to him months later with the most insincere apology he’d ever heard, and he’d heard them from Mr Carson. When he spoke, it was with a level, almost flat tone but to Mary, he may as well have screamed at the top of his lungs.

“I think you and I may have different definitions of the word fun milady. It wasn’t fun to walk into a room and find I’ve been replaced for no apparent reason. It wasn’t fun to realise that after all these years you still don’t trust me to do my job. It wasn’t fun to be cast out yet again when this time I had done nothing to deserve it. It’s not fun to know that you think an apology designed by a child would ever be good enough. Should I expect to find Mr Carson in my place every time you panic?”

There was a dull thud as the now cold chocolate was set down on the desk. Mary took a deep breath and stepped closer to Thomas and looked him square in the eye.

“You’re right. My behaviour was wrong and unfair and this…” she gestures vaguely “was cowardly. You know I don’t like admitting to being in the wrong. I do trust you and it was never my intention to cast you out I just…didn’t think of anyone but myself. I promise you it will never happen again. Can you forgive me?”

Thomas managed to hold out for a total of two minutes before he sighed. As upset and angry as he was he couldn’t deny that he had benefited greatly from the unexpected time off and while he didn’t really want to forgive Lady Mary so easily he also didn’t want Master George thinking that his plan hadn’t worked. Perhaps the best move here was to move past it and to prove that he was worthy of his position once and for all.

“I suppose I’ll have to milady. For Master George’s sake at least. I would hate for him to be disappointed when he’s put so much thought into it.”

The smile she gave him was soft if a little sad. She knew she wasn’t truly forgiven but she was touched that he would try for the sake of a child’s happiness. Her child’s happiness.

“Thank you, Barrow. I’m grateful and master George will be delighted. I’ll leave you to get on with your work.”

She turned to leave but just before she closed the door behind her she had a sudden thought and turned back.

“Do you really not like hot chocolate.”

“No milady. I was just being stubborn. I do like fun. Very much.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

After she’d closed the door gently and set off back upstairs Mary couldn’t help but think back at how angry Barrow had been and it had made her feel.

_‘Thank god he likes children. Who knew hot chocolate could be so….dangerous?’_


End file.
